"A life of pleasure makes even the strongest mind frivolous at last." — Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Storm Coloured Clothing This Way Comes

Alright, sorry about all the ‘something wicked’ puns that have been happening on my blog lately…but I blame it all on the Literary Sewing Circle! This virtual book & sewing club just finished reading Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes and the challenge was to sew something inspired by the book.

Am I looking sufficiently “mysteriously evil” here? lol

While I did read the book in its entirety, and actually gobbled it up very quickly because I enjoyed it quite a lot, I still feel a bit like I’m cheating / being lazy since my inspiration came directly from chapter 1, page 1. (I feel like that Facebook friend we’ve all got who doesn’t go as far as actually reading the article you shared but is happy to give you a lengthy opinion on the subject based on the title. Yeah, that guy.)

“The seller of lightning rods arrived just ahead of the storm. He came along the street of Green Town, Illinois, in the late cloudy October day, sneaking glances over his shoulder. Somewhere not so far back, vast lightnings stomped the earth. Somewhere, a storm like a great beast with terrible teeth could not be denied.”

These are my storm-coloured clothes of deep mauve and swirling shades of grey.

The cardigan is the Carrie Cardigan by Delia Creates, made with a fairly heavy-weight jersey I bought at Mood Fabrics a few years ago. I thought the fabric was going to be a dress but it has definitely found its calling in this cardigan.

The cardigan features a cozy cocoon shape and 3/4 length sleeves (although mine came out at a neither-here-nor-there length, so if I make this again I will add a few inches to make them full length. They look better pulled up a bit which I haven’t done in these photos.

The dress is the Scarlet Swing Dress by GreenStyle Creations. I was inspired by Sara’s blush pink velvet Ebony swing dress to try the swing dress style myself. (Okay, that’s actually an understatement. The moment I saw Sara’s swing dress I had to catch my breath and immediately began plotting a copy for myself. Never mind that the swing shape is a fair bit out of my usual comfort zone of fitted silhouettes.) Sara’s version is made from the Closet Case Ebony Tee & Dress pattern, but the $18 CAD price tag for the PDF version was just rather too spendy for me. So I went in search of an alternate swing dress pattern and found the Scarlet Swing Dress pattern for $10 USD (about $12.70 CAD).

You’d be forgiven for overlooking it if you perused GreenStyle Creations’ website, as the pattern photo doesn’t immediately stand out as “simple swing dress”….it’s a cold-shoulder, bell-sleeved version:

GreenStyle Creations Scarlet Swing Dress pattern photo

Me, I’ve been giving the cold-shoulder trend the absolute cold shoulder. I personally don’t like the look and dislike the feeling of bare shoulders in cool weather even more, so I didn’t even linger on this pattern at first. But the dress has many options, including sleeve length, sleeve shape, cold shoulder or not, hem lengths, and a hi-lo hem option. More bang for your $10 than the Ebony dress delivers, IMHO.

I used an “autumn-weight knit” from Fabricland. It’s similar in weight and drape to a ponte di roma fabric, and quite perfect to make this a cooler weather dress. As for the pattern, I found the shoulders to be too narrow and at first wondered if I had accidentally cut the shoulders for the cold-shoulder option, but I hadn’t. If I make another one, I will widen the shoulders by an inch or so at each side. And I added in-seam pockets, which is my automatic modification for any dress that doesn’t have pockets…because, whatthefuck am I gonna wear something without pockets for?? Other than those changes, I’m very happy with this simple but elegant design. It would be a great beginner dress pattern as there are only three pattern pieces (front, backs, sleeves) plus a neckband to deal with.

I’ve had lots of love on Instagram for this necklace, which I bought from Zara a couple of years back. Such a statement piece with a retro vibe.

Have you read the Ray Bradbury book? I really enjoyed it. Keep an eye on Melanie’s blog Following the Thread for future literary sew-alongs. I’m so in love with the idea of combining two of my favourite pastimes, reading and sewing, and connecting with other readers and sewists through this fun sew-along.

Thank goodness there is someone else out there who doesn’t like the “cold shoulder” look! I don’t mind slitted sleeves, but the weird holes in the shoulders “just because” drives me bonkers!

As for the book, never read it, but regardless, I love the color combination and the garments you’ve made with them. 🙂 I’ve been thinking I’d like a long swingy tee I might have to check out this pattern–who knows, maybe I’ll even make a couple of casual dresses…or not. 😉

Great combo. Very stormy. Beautiful. Well done. That dress, that colour – stunning on you. And the necklace, well I’ve commented before. Love, big love. Must remember to check out Zara for the latest goodies.

Love the outfit!!! It goes together so well, hangs beautifully on you, and there is a connection between this and the book. I am certainly inspired by your choice.
It was a great read – I got on to the Literary Sewing Circle as a result of listening to your podcast which I just accidentally found. Think I have now listened to every episode and really enjoy it.
As for books and sewing, what a perfect combination.

I love the dress! So inspired by your swing dress and it goes perfectly with the cardigan! I was really hoping to follow in the book club sewalong but life just gets full at times! I am still hopeful that I can at least read the book over the holidays since Melanie made it sound so good on your podcast.

Very late to this post—I got here via the Clothing Mavens’ podcast on period clothes (clothes for periods, not historical clothing.) I was put off by other suggestions for waistless dresses, but this one is awesome, and the colors are good too. I’m less taken with the cocoon cardi, but that’s mostly because I know myself—if there is excess fabric I will miss the sleeve and spend half an hour trying to jam my arm into a pocket or a design feature. Every time. In public.

“Something Wicked” is my favorite Bradbury story ever. I’ve seen lots of other writers try to imbue carnivals and circuses with that air of supernatural evanescence…nobody manages quite as well. And Mr. Dark’s evil is so…comprehensible. (In most supernatural stories the big evil wants to end people (or the world) for no adequately explained reason. ) I’ll stop dissecting a book you read six months ago, but if you would like more Bradbury in that vein, try “The October People.”